Video can be a fantastic tool in your SEO strategy, but many companies fail in this area because they don’t know how SEO works.

Phil Nottingham is an SEO consultant and in-house video expert at Distilled London, and he shares some of his hard-earned expertise in a recent article on SEOmoz.

Nottingham details a comprehensive video SEO strategy and gives advice on the four types of content companies should focus on producing. For the full article, head over to SEOmoz:Building a Video SEO Strategy

So there you have it. Seven mistakes to avoid to ensure your website is among the 19% that get all the customer enquiries and sales, and not the 81% of websites that sit there and do absolutely nothing.

I’m not going to sugar-coat it: Creating a profitable website takes quite a bit of time, energy and money.

But it’s well worth your effort. Because a profitable website offers many benefits, including some or all of the following:

Increases customer enquiries

Generates qualified sales leads

Increases sales revenue

Decreases marketing costs

Gets more business out of existing customers

Improves customer service

Increases shareholder value

These days your website is often the first impression customers get of your business. Because a website is self-service it must stand or fall on its own merit. If your website sucks, customers will hit the back button, probably never to return. But if your website creates a strong first impression, you can get a head start on your competition.

If you’re not utilising your website to its full potential now, how long can you continue until your competitors get a real edge over you because they’re using the web more effectively?

We all know how important testimonials are. Well, this article explains how you can go one step further by writing “customer profiles” – a cross between a testimonial and case study. They allow prospects to step into your satisfied customers’ shoes and imagine themselves receiving the same results.

Video can be a great tool for building your brand. But, like all content, you need to ensure your intended audience sees it. Here’s how to optimise your video for higher Google rankings. Sample tip: If your video is short, make a transcription and put it in the YouTube description.

In this video, SEO copywriting maven Heather Lloyd-Martin outlines three major website content writing no-no’s. From putting your company’s “mission statement” on your home page to writing over your prospects’ heads, learn what not to do when creating your content.

Nick suggests a few tactics that can help you write articles that will delight your readers, while still ranking well, such as:

Write a better headline

This is one of my favourite ways to improve an article (in fact any web page). An attention-getting headline is much more likely to catch readers’ attention and keep them on the page.

Tell people “How to…”

You speak more directly to the needs of your readers when you turn a passive article into a “how-to” guide, says Nick.

Create a resource list

A similar tactic is to create a resource list, such as a top 10, best of, or guide. Not only are articles like these useful for your customers, they can also attract links which will improve your rankings much more than a spammy article.

There are several ways to increase performance in ecommerce, including marketing and pay-per-click advertising. Some methods can be pricey and will require some hefty backing if you hope to be successful.

According to Alexia McCormick, however, there are quite a number of small things you can do that will improve your overall conversion rate without breaking the bank.

If you’re in the content marketing field, you know that staying ahead of the game is the only way to win. Keeping up with the trends in marketing and social media is an absolute must.

As we’re heading into the new year, the CMI blog is taking a look at some of the most prevalent trends in the field – and they’re giving us all a heads-up on what we should get ready for.

Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, has gathered input from more than 80 marketing professionals, and has put together over 100 predictions for the coming year. Topics range from print to mobile to social demand generation.